Community steps up to help student musicians who lost instruments in fire

Some student musicians in Fond du Lac County are receiving support from the community after they lost their instruments in a fire over the weekend.

While investigators are busy trying to figure out what caused the fire that burned a historic building and wiped out a whole band of instruments at the century-old St. Lawrence Seminary High School in Mount Calvary, music director John Ahlstrom said it makes him sick just to look at it.

"A lot of kids lost instruments in there. I lost some instruments in there. All the music library is gone as far as I know. It will be a while before we can actually get in there and look around," Ahlstrom said.

The fire broke out Saturday morning about 5:30 a.m., just hours before the music students were to leave for a competition in Kohler. Close to 100 students, or more than half the school, are involved in the music program.

"It's just still, I'm sure a level of shock that we're all going through," Ahlstrom said.

To neighbors in Fond du Lac County, the Catholic college prep seminary sits on holy ground. They are opening their hearts and their wallets to help out.

Mike's Music in Fond du Lac is just one of the businesses that responded right away after they heard what happened.

"And offered to give them some rentals, some rental instruments to use,' Mike's Music co-owner Dan Gilgenbach said.

Gilgenbach said he knows how hard the school has worked to build its music program.

"And then, depending on how things shake out, you know, we'll help them out any way we can," he said.

The school said others have also made generous offers.

A music fund has also been established for the school. Donations can be sent to: